Means for locking a collar to a rod



Jan. 31, 1956 H. T. BACKHOUSE 2,733,082

MEANS FOR LOOKING A COLLAR TO A ROD Filed/Aug. 15, 1951 INVENT0R a Jlam ATTm'eA/EY:

United States Patent MEANS FOR LOCKING A COLLAR TO A ROD Headley Townsend Backhouse, Sunningdale, England Application August 15, 1951, Serial No. 242,014 Claims priority, application Great Britain August 28, 1950 4 Claims. (Cl. 287-5202) This invention relates to means for locking a collar to a rod.

The general object of the invention is to provide means whereby a sleeve, collar or the like (herein referred to as a collar) slidable along a rod, tube, shaft or the like (herein referred to as a rod) may be locked in any desired position of adjustment along the rod, in a constant predetermined angular position on the rod.

The invention provides, in combination with a rod having a longitudinal groove therein a collar slidable longitudinally on said rod, and clamping means for locking said collar to said rod at various locations thereon and in the same predetermined angular position. This clamping means, in the form of the invention hereinafter described, comprises a cam supported in said collar for rotation about an axis outside of said rod and transverse to the axis thereof. A slide cooperates with said cam and is carried within said collar and lies in a plane containing the axis of said rod and is guided by said collar for movement in that plane radially with respect to said rod and into and out of engagement with said groove. Therefore, upon rotation of said cam, said slide can be moved in said collar into and out of engagement with the groove in the rod. It is preferred that the edge of the slide fits into a longitudinally extending groove or slot in the rod and further that the end of the slide and the groove are shaped to co-operate with a wedging action, e. g. the groove may be of V-section and the end of the slide also of V-shape but with a slightly greater angle between the faces which form the V-section. This arrangement provides a centering or aligning action which ensures that the collar will be correctly located in the predetermined angular relation to the rod in any position of axial adjustment. This feature is of especial importance when the collar is part of a device which is to be rocked or rotated by the shaft with precision as to its timing and angular position. A further advantage is that play between the collar and the rod is avoided.

As an example of the invention a specific construction of clamping means to be used in a sheet separating and feeding machine will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an arm carrying a running-in wheel clamped to an oscillatable shaft, nd

Figure 2 is a detail view of the groove in the shaft and the end of the clamping blade.

In machines for separating sheets of paper, card or the like from the top of a pile and for feeding the separated sheets to a printing or other machine operating on individual sheets it is desirable to support parts of the machine by brackets dependent from rods or bars extending across the pile or across a feed-board onto which the sheets are fed from the pile and, in order that the ma chine may readily be adjusted to suit sheets of dilferent sizes, it is desirable that the brackets may be easily adjustable along the rods and then be securely locked in position. The brackets may, for example, carry two or more running-in wheels which descend onto the sheets being fed, for only a certain part of the feeding cycle and which must rise and fall accurately in unison, by rocking of the supporting rod, if unevenoperation is to be avoided. Further it may be desirable that the cam, oscillatory arm or other means for operating such a device is adjustable along its operating shaft. The present invention provides a simple and effective means by which these adjustments may be made.

The drawings illustrate the invention as applied to a support for a running-in wheel. The running-in wheel 1 is carried on the end of an arm 2 formed with an integral collar 3 slidable along an oscillatory operating shaft 4. The collar 3 has, at a position outside the rod or shaft 4, a throughway 5 extending transversely to the axis of the rod or shaft and also has a radially extending slot 6 intersecting the throughway 5 at about the centre of the length of the throughway. Within this slot 6 there is a closely fitting slide or blade 7 having a hole which nearly registers with the throughway 5. A spindle 8 extends through the throughway 5 and hole in the slide 7 and is formed with an eccentric 9 where it passes through the hole. To facilitate assembly the lower end of the spindle 8 and the corresponding part of the throughway 5 is larger than the overall diameter of the eccentric 9. The upper end of the spindle 8 is screw-threaded and there is a short lever arm 19 screwed onto this end of the spindle and locked thereon by a nut 11. A spring double-coil washer 12 is fitted between the arm and the face of the collar at the end of the throughway. The rod or shaft 4 has a longitudinally extending groove 13 of about V-section and the inner edge 14 of the slide 7, which is of corresponding shape but slightly in excess of 90, fits closely therein.

When it is desired to lock the collar to the rod or shaft 4 the lever arm 10 is operated to rotate the spindle 8 and cause the eccentric 9 to force the slide 7 radially inwardly into clamping and wedging engagement with the groove 13. Release of the bracket or other device is readily effected by movement of the lever 10 to release the clamping pressure.

The arm 2 shown in the drawings may be replaced by a bracket, cam or other device secured to the collar 3 in any appropriate position (e. g. a cam may be secured to a side of the collar) and the device may be slidable along the shaft 4 and secured thereto as desired in the manner just described.

I claim:

1. In combination, a rod having a single longitudinal groove therein, a collar slidable longitudinally on said rod and having a member carried by the collar and urging the collar to rotate about the rod, and means for preventing such rotation and longitudinal sliding of the collar comprising clamping means for locking said collar to said rod at any position along the length thereof and always in one and the same predetermined angular position about the rod, which clamping means comprise a cam supported in said collar for rotation about an axis which is in a plane outside of said rod and is transverse to the axis thereof, and a flat slide cooperating with said cam and carried within said collar and lying in a plane containing the axis of said rod and guided by said collar for movement in that plane radially with respect to said rod and into and out of engagement with said groove, whereby upon rotation of said cam said slide can be moved in said collar into and out of engagement with said groove in said rod, the groove in the rod being of V-section and the end of the slide being also of V-section, whereby as the slide is moved into engagement with said groove as aforesaid the engagement between the groove and the end of the slide serves to rotate the collar, against the said urge, accurately into the said predetermined angular position, and the engagement of the end of the slide and the groove serves to lock the collar against angular and longitudinal movement on said rod.

2. The combination according to claim 1, in which the angle of the V-section of the said end of the slide is slightly greater than that of the groove.

3. The combination according to claim 2, in which the inclined faces of the Vs are symmetrical about the said plane when the collar is in the said predetermined angularposition.

4. The combination according to claim 1, in which the cam is contained Within a throughway in the slide and is engageable with walls of the throughway which are opposed to one another in the radial direction of the rod to effect said radial movements of the slide both towards and away from the rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Chappuis May 16, Page Oct. 14, Borough May 7, Batchelder Aug. 25, Beede Aug. 15, Davidson May 1, Verderber July 12, Zaiger Mar. 7, Stindt June 15,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Feb. 26, 

